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Ocean City, MD 2021

tschwa2

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We are nearing the end of the first of 4 weeks in Ocean City, MD. Some random thoughts and observations. I am in north Ocean City. I have never seen beach erosion this bad here. I know they regularly do replenishment. So I looked it up and they do it once every 4 years and it is scheduled for this fall. Maybe I missed the final years other years.

This first week has been just DH and me. I had to renew my drivers license so we took a trip to Salisbury and after stopped off at Evo brewing, home of my husbands favorite IPA #6 and also really like Lucky 7 Porter. Today was some Berlin breweries. Burley Oak which had a very good sweet imperial chocolate stout and a very good porter both mini pours as part of our 6 flight selection. They also had a large selection of both sweet and regular sours that were quite good. Next stop was Sinepatuxent brewing also in Berlin. No stouts or porters so I was out of luck and no flights but they would give you tastes of any of their 6 or so beers. I had a Sprite and my DH thought the double IPA was quite good. Next stop was West Ocean City as it just turned 3pm which meant the start of Happy Hour at Shark on the Harbor. I had fish and chips with rockfish caught earlier that day and DH had the ribs. Both excellent. Craft brews were $4-$5 with a small selection of MD and Delaware brewers and since I was the DD I had iced tea. Nice views of Assateague and a nice atmosphere overall. It poured down raining but slowed up but just as we were leaving it picked back up which made the trip back to North Ocean City challenging.

Crabs earlier in the week at my favorite OCM. They only had large of $70 or medium for $50. We had large, not the heaviest but not light. They aren't the cheapest but they aren't the most expensive and I always like the flavor.

More to come and others are welcome to ask questions or add their favorite OC hints or hidden gems.
 

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Longtime family friends owned the former Conner’s Inn, one house back from the boardwalk at 10th St. I spent many summers with them, and worked boardwalk jobs at Edwards 5&10 at 4th St, and The Dough Roller at Division St. I closed Shenanigans too many nights to count. OCMD will always have a special place in my :)


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We are nearing the end of the first of 4 weeks in Ocean City, MD. Some random thoughts and observations. I am in north Ocean City. I have never seen beach erosion this bad here. I know they regularly do replenishment. So I looked it up and they do it once every 4 years and it is scheduled for this fall. Maybe I missed the final years other years.

This first week has been just DH and me. I had to renew my drivers license so we took a trip to Salisbury and after stopped off at Evo brewing, home of my husbands favorite IPA #6 and also really like Lucky 7 Porter. Today was some Berlin breweries. Burley Oak which had a very good sweet imperial chocolate stout and a very good porter both mini pours as part of our 6 flight selection. They also had a large selection of both sweet and regular sours that were quite good. Next stop was Sinepatuxent brewing also in Berlin. No stouts or porters so I was out of luck and no flights but they would give you tastes of any of their 6 or so beers. I had a Sprite and my DH thought the double IPA was quite good. Next stop was West Ocean City as it just turned 3pm which meant the start of Happy Hour at Shark on the Harbor. I had fish and chips with rockfish caught earlier that day and DH had the ribs. Both excellent. Craft brews were $4-$5 with a small selection of MD and Delaware brewers and since I was the DD I had iced tea. Nice views of Assateague and a nice atmosphere overall. It poured down raining but slowed up but just as we were leaving it picked back up which made the trip back to North Ocean City challenging.

Crabs earlier in the week at my favorite OCM. They only had large of $70 or medium for $50. We had large, not the heaviest but not light. They aren't the cheapest but they aren't the most expensive and I always like the flavor.

More to come and others are welcome to ask questions or add their favorite OC hints or hidden gems.

Thanks for the info! We're going for two weeks next spring. Where do you get your crabs? We like Crabs to Go and Bahama's.

We like Shark on the Harbor too! We also love Our Harvest in Fenwick and its BBQ place, Annabelle's, and Liquid Assets for lunch. Our favorites are the Hooked restaurants, especially Just Hooked, in Fenwick.



Have you tried Annabelle's? They're pretty new, a BBQ place that's related to Our Harvest. And Liquid Assets is great for lunch.
 

pedro47

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Recommendation for a timeshare vacation at Ocean City after September 30?
Must be a two bedroom unit, clean, and near the ocean. Thanks.
 

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I haven't been there in a few years because the rental costs are outrageous there (it's cheaper for two weeks in Florida or a week in Cancun all-included), but we love OC. Our favorite crab place is the The Crab Bag at 131st (randomly, they also have good BBQ too). I'm a fish taco fanatic and my favorites are at Fish Tales and Mackey's. Can't beat Kohr's frozen custard. Dammit, now I want to go there.
 

jmhpsu93

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Recommendation for a timeshare vacation at Ocean City after September 30?
Must be a two bedroom unit, clean, and near the ocean. Thanks.
Pedro, I wouldn't limit to just a timeshare unless you're looking to trade in via Interval or RCI (and there really aren't that many). For October you'll have TONS of good choices to rent. Some of the nicest places are The Carousel and Sea Watch, and maybe Fountainhead.

There's nothing in OC that relates to the timeshare property experience in Vistana or Marriott, not even close IMHO.
 

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I haven't been there in a few years because the rental costs are outrageous there (it's cheaper for two weeks in Florida or a week in Cancun all-included), but we love OC. Our favorite crab place is the The Crab Bag at 131st (randomly, they also have good BBQ too). I'm a fish taco fanatic and my favorites are at Fish Tales and Mackey's. Can't beat Kohr's frozen custard. Dammit, now I want to go there.
The Crab Bag has declined over the years, I'm afraid. We were there in April and we left feeling like we were done with them. :(
 

wackymother

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Pedro, I wouldn't limit to just a timeshare unless you're looking to trade in via Interval or RCI (and there really aren't that many). For October you'll have TONS of good choices to rent. Some of the nicest places are The Carousel and Sea Watch, and maybe Fountainhead.

There's nothing in OC that relates to the timeshare property experience in Vistana or Marriott, not even close IMHO.
I agree about the quality of timeshares there. We love to go, and we've thought about buying there...but since we prefer the shoulder season, it's easy and affordable to stay.

Thanks for the info about non-timeshare places to stay! We've always stayed in timeshares, but we will start looking into other places for a change.
 

pedro47

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We can/would like to rent a nice two bedroom condo or a hotel room, that has two bedroom. Any recommendation, looking for the fall of Year.
 

tschwa2

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The Crab Bag has declined over the years, I'm afraid. We were there in April and we left feeling like we were done with them. :(
They still have the best cream of crab soup. At $10 a little pricier than some others that are good at $7 but but I think they are still worth the extra $3. The MD crab on the other hand hardly had any crab and while good tasting was not worth $10. Since we stop in for soup we like to look at their crab prices. They are one of the most expensive. Their jumbo were $185 for one dozen. Their mediums were $70. Like many businesses they are struggling to find workers. Normally they would be open 7 days a week at 11am. This year they don't open until 4pm M-Th.
 

tschwa2

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We can/would like to rent a nice two bedroom condo or a hotel room, that has two bedroom. Any recommendation, looking for the fall of Year.
If you are going over a weekend still expect crazy high rental prices especially if you want a view of the ocean. I am still amazed that a Sept week in Maui, 1 BR ocean view at a big nice resort(not peak season in either Hawaii or Ocean City) was less expensive than an ocean view with pool about the size of 8 bathtubs in ocean city. The big draw to Ocean city for so many people is an ocean with less than a 3.5 hr drive for millions of people. For the cost of most people's across the highway in an older resort, you can get easily get a nice ocean view or even ocean front in Myrtle beach with an ocean that is actually warm enough to swim in but the trade off is 8hr from home vs 2.5 hrs from home. I am leaving my 15 year old son still in school in the care of my responsible but sometimes absentminded 19 year old son but I know I can be home even in bad traffic in less than 4 hrs if need be.

There are many nicer or as nice places on the east coast and some are less expensive. I too worked 2 summers in OC as a teen and went to Salisbury University (for a boy) about 30 miles away for the first 2 years before coming home (for a different boy) to graduate at UMBC.
 

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Ha! I wonder if we ever overlapped--passing each other on the boardwalk, etc....there's zoning regulations aren't there that have kept the southern part of the boardwalk from being overbuilt ala Myrtle Beach, correct? But, yes, I think you're right---it's a short trip across the Route 50 bridge from DC, and--for us coming from SE PA--we could get there in about 3 hours, with less traffic to battle than trying to get to the Jersey beaches. We did so many "lightning trips to Ocean City" growing up, because 1) we always knew we had a free place to stay and 2) because it was just so easy to get there. I do like the actual beach at MB better, but I like the vibe of OCMD more. (North Myrtle, on the other hand, that's more of a toss up.) It's interesting to me that Gold Key never developed there as an extension of their OBX/Va Beach system, or that some of the larger chains haven't decided to take the plunge, leaving everything to independents.
 

tschwa2

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It's interesting to me that Gold Key never developed there as an extension of their OBX/Va Beach system, or that some of the larger chains haven't decided to take the plunge, leaving everything to independents.
I think it is just the seasonality of OC. Va Beach has enough full time residents (500,000 although most live in areas away from the beach and 1.4 million in the Va Beach area) that it is a real city even in the winter. OC has less than 7000 full time residents and when Oceanfront hotels can go for $500+ during the summer and can close down completely in the winter if they choose to and timeshares have to charge the same per week summer or winter, then an UDI points would be the only option which gold key wasn't doing. The points in the winter would have to be so low and the summer would be so hard to get that it isn't feasible. Gold Key is still around but once they sold all their summer inventory just managing the timeshares wasn't enough to keep them interested.
 

tschwa2

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I worked at Sunsations and lived above the kitchen restaurant (apartments) on Wicomico Street when I was 17 and Phillips the year I turned 18, living at 8th st and St Louis. At 17 it was a studio with 2 other girls. At 18 it was a very large 2 BR but there were 3 beds in each bedroom and it was mixed boys and girls.
 

pedro47

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All Gold Key Resorts are now own by Diamond Resorts International.
 

tschwa2

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All Gold Key Resorts are now own by Diamond Resorts International.
yes Gold Key sold their timeshare division but kept their retail and residential management business in Virginia Beach.
 

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They still have the best cream of crab soup. At $10 a little pricier than some others that are good at $7 but but I think they are still worth the extra $3. The MD crab on the other hand hardly had any crab and while good tasting was not worth $10. Since we stop in for soup we like to look at their crab prices. They are one of the most expensive. Their jumbo were $185 for one dozen. Their mediums were $70. Like many businesses they are struggling to find workers. Normally they would be open 7 days a week at 11am. This year they don't open until 4pm M-Th.


I believe you. There were still some good items the night we were there in April--in fact I think my husband did get soup and it was good. But the waitress was really rude and some of the items came out refrigerator-cold. When we asked the waitress to take the items back and heat them, she did a pretty major eye-rolling thing. That was the icing on the cake of the so-so food.
 

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Oh, Sunsations! Good times, good times....not jealous of the housing situation, though, LOL. Towards the end, the matriarch of the family sold Conner's Inn, and the family moved to a new house in Berlin. So my last summer there, I commuted in from Berlin (but had arranged for free parking in a church parking lot just for the family, which made it so much easier to live off the boardwalk.)
 

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We live in the mid Atlantic area and usually hit OCMD 2-3 times per year for long weekends. Our first trip is scheduled for the long weekend of July 9-12. We always stay at the oceanfront HoJos on 12th street on the top floor using our WR points. It’s a good deal considering those rooms go for $500-600 per night on weekends during prime season. We love the area and all of the myriad activities available on and off the boardwalk. We’ll also head back during second season sometime in mid-late September when the water is still warm but the heat isn’t as bad. Most of the restaurants on the boardwalk aren’t anything to write home about IME.

We like Just Hooked, Lobster Shanty and Catch 54 in Fenwick. We usually end up hitting Seacrets bayside as well since we like their distilled Vodkas and rums. We usually go for lunch as opposed to dinner because Seacrets is mobbed on the weekends for dinner and late night.

Sometimes we will head up to The Big Chill at the Indian River Inlet to enjoy the beach views and people watch while sipping a few cocktails and finger foods.

In OCMD we like Micky Fins, Harrison’s Harbor, Sneaky Pete’s, Bayside Skillet (breakfast), Hooper’s crab house, and many others that aren’t coming readily to mind.


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Spent more than a few fireman's convention down there in the 70s. I remember when the boardwalk wasn’t past 33rd street. Edwards on the Boardwalk, Soriano’s, Thrasher’s French Fries, the Dough Roller and a few more.

It's a crime how expensive crabs have gotten.
 

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If you are going over a weekend still expect crazy high rental prices especially if you want a view of the ocean. I am still amazed that a Sept week in Maui, 1 BR ocean view at a big nice resort(not peak season in either Hawaii or Ocean City) was less expensive than an ocean view with pool about the size of 8 bathtubs in ocean city. The big draw to Ocean city for so many people is an ocean with less than a 3.5 hr drive for millions of people. For the cost of most people's across the highway in an older resort, you can get easily get a nice ocean view or even ocean front in Myrtle beach with an ocean that is actually warm enough to swim in but the trade off is 8hr from home vs 2.5 hrs from home.

I am a 20+ year transplant to the DC area. I will do a long weekend trip to Delmarva beaches if it was what I can do for a weekend ... but if I have a week of vacation I can get a heck of a lot more enjoyment from my time and money somewhere else. I think I now understand why some of you choose to do this .... there is a significant sentimental factor.
 

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Our son has a small condo near 122 street and Ocean Highway. Is that where the beach erosion is. We will probably go a few times this summer.
 

tschwa2

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Our son has a small condo near 122 street and Ocean Highway. Is that where the beach erosion is. We will probably go a few times this summer.
It was definitely from 128-142 but that was as far as I have walked so far.
 

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I am a 20+ year transplant to the DC area. I will do a long weekend trip to Delmarva beaches if it was what I can do for a weekend ... but if I have a week of vacation I can get a heck of a lot more enjoyment from my time and money somewhere else. I think I now understand why some of you choose to do this .... there is a significant sentimental factor.


We didn't discover OC till we were well into adulthood, so we're not that sentimental about it...we just like it. One thing that's great compared to the Jersey Shore or Cape Cod is that it's all one long beach. No fussing with different tags or parking permits.
 
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